a handmade box of rings, a letter read aloud, and two kids swinging from the exact tree they'd chosen. never to plan, always meant to be.
quiet was the whole brief
chloe and myles travelled over from the US, and chloe had a plan: to propose to myles. but as chloe told me early on, “we are a queer, neurodivergent couple” — and more than scenery, the place had to be quiet. private, calm, low on stimulation. so i went looking, properly, for the most beautiful and most peaceful spot i could find — somewhere that held everything they'd asked for and could make the morning as gentle and as special as it deserved to be.
the best-laid plan
the first idea — a sunrise on the coast — slipped away when the morning lost its fight with jet lag and the time difference. so we moved it to one of their last days in dublin, to the national botanic gardens, where i already had the perfect spot in mind. i came early and went full spy: two cameras hidden, me behind a tree, and a microphone tucked right where they'd sit, so not a word of it would be lost. barely a soul around. perfect.
and then, the children
they arrived, laid out their picnic blanket, and it began. chloe had written myles a letter and made a box of stone rings by hand. chloe started to read — and right on cue, two small kids came tearing around them and swung off the exact tree they were sitting under. from behind my own tree i was quietly losing it, nearly hissing at them to shoo. hilarious now. pure panic then.
and through all of it, chloe and myles never once flinched. the moment was theirs, and they were simply themselves — soft, silly, laughing, in love without an ounce of effort. one of the most genuine couples i've ever photographed, and i really hope i'm behind the camera again for the wedding.
planning a proposal or elopement in dublin, or anywhere the love is? this is exactly the kind of morning i live to hold a camera for.